The invisible work behind a SaaS: things nobody tells you
I’m building Linkeme, a tool that helps solo founders stay visible on social media without spending hours every week writing posts. It started as something I needed for myself, and I’m now sharing the journey as I grow it.
When I started building my SaaS, I was focused on code. I thought if I could just build a solid product, users would come, and everything else would fall into place.
That was a big misconception.
The truth is, the actual coding ended up being maybe 40% of the journey. The rest was “invisible work” — the unglamorous, sometimes boring, but absolutely necessary things that keep a product alive.
Here are a few examples from my own experience:
Company setup and legal
Registering the company, dealing with lawyers and accountants, making sure contracts and invoices were compliant. Not hard, but time-consuming, and it feels like you’re doing admin instead of “building.”
Compliance and policies
Privacy policies, GDPR, data retention, terms of service. Nobody likes writing them, but without them you can’t build trust, especially in Europe.
Customer support
You imagine a support inbox filled with interesting product feedback. Reality: password resets, billing questions, and emails at midnight asking if your SaaS can also build a website.
Documentation and onboarding
Creating docs, FAQs, and simple onboarding flows so that users don’t churn on day one. Writing instructions that nobody reads is its own art form.
Marketing and visibility
The mental switch from “I’m a maker” to “I’m also a marketer.” Writing posts, scheduling content, engaging on Reddit or Indie Hackers, trying to stay consistent while building.
What surprised me most was how much of this work is ongoing. It’s not “do it once and forget it.” It’s continuous. And it often eats the exact same time you planned to spend coding.
I built Linkeme partly out of this frustration: I needed a way to stay visible on social media without spending 5 hours every week writing and scheduling posts manually. Automating at least some of the “invisible” marketing work gave me more time to handle the other hidden tasks.
If you’re at the early stage of your SaaS:
Expect at least half of your time to go into non-coding tasks.
Don’t underestimate how much energy the boring parts take.
Look for ways to systematize or automate the repeatable stuff.
Curious to hear from others here:
What was the “invisible work” that surprised you most in your own project?
I agree
Me building a Saas product 👀😅
Absolutely love how you’ve highlighted the 'invisible work' that often goes unnoticed when building a SaaS. I can totally relate to how much time gets absorbed by tasks like customer support, compliance, and, of course, marketing! One thing that really helped me in my own journey was automating as much of the repetitive tasks as possible. For example, I developed a brat generator that helps with content creation, saving hours each week on social media posts and other repetitive tasks. It's such a game-changer to streamline the 'boring' parts, so you can focus on what really matters—building the product. Anyone else using tools to automate these non-coding tasks?
I completely relate to your experience. When I was developing my app, I assumed that having a project manager, delivery team, and designer would streamline the process. However, I found myself not only managing developers and making design choices but also handling social media and content creation—an essential part of growing the SaaS alongside the product itself. It felt like I was juggling everything, even with a team in place. The invisible work can be exhausting!
That’s why what you’ve created with Likeme SaaS is so impactful. It’s designed to save founders valuable time and keep them visible online, all without the risk of burnout that many of us faced. You’re addressing a common challenge, and trust me, it’s a game changer!